LET US REMEMBER OUR FIGHTING MEN AND WOMEN ON MEMORIAL DAY
As our nation fights the War on Terror in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, Memorial Day provides us a fitting time to stop and pay respect to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.
Originally begun to honor the fallen in the War Between the States, this day has grown to include all those who have died defending our nation, through the two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the two Gulf Wars and today's continuing War on Terror.
The loss of life is always painful. John Adams once said that America will be a friend to all and an enemy to none, and we have generally followed that advice through our history. Yet when we have been attacked - by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941 and by Islamist terrorists on September 11, 2001 - we had no choice but to respond. In both cases, we were at peace, and an enemy bent on destruction of liberty attacked us because we were the greatest obstacle to their dark designs.
If America doesn't stand for freedom, no other country in the world will. No other country in the world has the capacity and the commitment to defend liberty and if freedom died in America, it would surely die throughout the world. We are both a beacon of hope to the world and a target of resentment for those who seek to enslave others.
This Memorial Day I was comforted that the same bravery and sacrifice that flowed in the veins of those fallen heroes still courses in today's generation.
Let me cite just one story which illustrates this point. It is the story of the rescue of Jessica Lynch. We all know that the Army Rangers had a mission to go in to that hospital where they heard she was being treated, rescue her in the dark of night, and carry her to the helicopters so they could be out before daybreak. That was the mission. It was simple, clear, and expected to be fast, but something happened. An Iraqi doctor came up to the commander and said, "You know there are Americans buried on the hospital grounds."
The commander did not know that. It was not part of the intelligence briefing. The troops did not have so much as a shovel with them, but he gave the order: "We are going to take every American home."
He described it this way: "They dug with their hands and raced the sun. They dug every American out of those hospital rows and they took every fallen American to the helicopter with Jessica Lynch because their motto is "we never leave one of our own behind."
This bravery and loyalty to fallen comrades shows why we are going to achieve victory. We are going to win because we value life and we never leave one of our own behind. Our enemy celebrates a culture of death that targets unarmed civilians, while we celebrate heroism in defense of life.
A medical corpsman writing on the website Marine Corps Moms wrote that while he was serving in Kosovo, "I was giving out medications to over 200 people and very busy when one old woman grabbed my arm demanding my attention and stopping me from working. She held my hand with one of hers and with her other hand she patted my cheek…then she began saying something in Albanian over and over again. I turned to ask my interpreter what she was saying and he told me that she was saying, 'God bless America, God bless America, that's all I can say is God bless America.'"
This Memorial Day, there are many like that Albanian woman who have been given the gift of freedom, thanks to the sacrifices and bravery of our fighting men and women. Like her, I say, God bless America, and add, God bless those who gave their lives so that we may live free.
May 27, 2005